Casino complimentary systems

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and computer readable storage medium for implementing wagering games and sharing player account information between affiliated establishments. The wagering games can be implemented online or in a land based casino, and the player can earn complimentaries from either the online casino or the land based casino.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to and is a Continuation in Part (CIP)of application No. 10/771,081, entitled, “A CASHLESS SLOT MACHINE AND/ORAMUSEMENT DEVICE WITH SPECIAL FEATURES,” filed Feb. 4, 2004, which isincorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a method, device, and computerreadable storage medium for implementing improved complimentary systemsfor affiliated wagering establishments.

2. Description of the Related Art

Online casinos are a billion dollar industry. An online casino is acasino where a player can play remotely using a computer communicationsnetwork (typically the Internet) for real money.

Brick and mortar casinos are also a billion dollar industry. More andmore countries are legalizing gambling.

Both types of casinos give complimentaries (comps) in order to attractand reward player for their play.

What is needed is a way to coordinate comps from online casinos andbrick and mortar casinos.

What is also needed are ways to improve administration of complimentarysystems over the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide improvements andinnovations in complimentary systems used in wagering establishmentssuch as online and/or land based casinos.

The above aspects can be obtained by a method that includes (a) a playerregistering a first account with a land based casino; (b) the playerregistering a second account with an online based casino; and (b)associating the first account and the second account.

These together with other aspects and advantages which will besubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention,will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of hardware used toimplement the present system, according to an embodiment of the presentsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating records for affiliated casinos,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementingthe present invention, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of using a same account for a land an onlinecasino, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

The present system relates to casino complimentary systems andimprovements thereof.

A standard method of providing comps in brick and mortar casinos forslot players is to give a player a fixed cash back for each dollar bet(or slot pull), which gets recorded in the player's loyalty account.Table game play is rated a little differently, since a human istypically needed (unless automated systems are used) to record aplayer's wagers. Typically, a table game player is rated based on his orher average wagers and time played, which gets recorded in the player'sloyalty account.

Comps can be issued in an online casino in a similar manner to brick andmortar casinos. Since a player's table game wagers are all processedautomatically, no human is required for an online casino to track theplayer's table game play.

Typically, comp points stored in a player's loyalty account can be usedto exchange for cash, cash towards purchases, free or discounted room,food or beverage, free trips back to the casino, or any other knownincentive casinos award. In an online casino, typically comp points areexchanged for cash which can be further wagered.

A brick and mortar casino may also open an online casino. Or a brick andmortar casino may affiliate with an online casino. It would beadvantageous to the casinos involved (and the player as well) to sharedata from the player's loyalty account(s) from both the online casinoand the brick and mortar casino (or these accounts can be merged, asdiscussed below in more detail).

With a coordination or synergy between accounts, a player can earn comppoints by gambling online which can be applied to an affiliated brickand mortar casino. For example, a fictitious “Sunshine Casino” is abrick and mortar casino that also opens an online casino. According tothe present system, a player that plays using the Sunshine online casinocan now apply points earned to complimentaries at the Sunshine brick andmortar casino.

This is advantageous in that it encourages the player to play using theonline casino at his home since the player knows that the points he orshe earns can be applied to complimentaries at the real live casino aswell (or vice versa). This also encourages loyalty by encouraging theplayer to gamble at the online casino (if the player has a loyaltyaccount with the affiliated land casino) and vice versa. This systemalso encourages marketing efforts by the casino, as the brick and mortarcasino can use a player's online play in order to base a decision tooffer the player more incentives (i.e. if a player loses a lot of moneyonline, the casino may offer him a free or discounted trip to the playerif the player visits the land based casino).

A casino can also judge a player's skill level when the player plays atthe online casino, and the player's skill level can be used in thedecision whether or not to offer an incentive for the land basedaffiliated casino.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of hardware used toimplement the present system, according to an embodiment of the presentsystem.

An online casino server 100 is connected to a computer communicationsnetwork 102 (typically the Internet), which is connected to a personalcomputer. The online casino server is also typically connected to anonline casino database 101. The online casino database 101 stores playerinformation, including player name, address, playing history, loyaltypoints earned, etc. A player typically accesses his or her onlineplaying account by entering a username and a password at the player'spersonal computer 104, which is then transmitted to the server 100,which then verifies the username and password by querying the casinodatabase 101.

A slot machine 114 in a land based casino is connected to a land basedcasino database 110 using a computer communications network 112(typically a LAN or other type of local connection apparatus). A playerinserts his or her loyalty card into the slot machine 114 (or adjacentloyalty card reader), which reads the player's account number. Any play(including comp points earned) by the player on the slot machine 114 isrecorded in the land based casino database 110.

It is noted that the land based casino and the online casino illustratedin FIG. 1 may be owned by the same party or have some type of businessaffiliation. The present system coordinates these two entities so thatplayer information can be shared and utilized for improved marketing.

Several configuration of the coordination can be implemented, a few ofthose are described herein. The online casino server 100 may beconnected to the land based casino database (using a server notpictured) using a computer communications network 106 (such as theInternet).

An account coordinator 108 can be used to coordinate accounts betweenthe online casino database 101 and the land based casino database 110.More on the account 108 will be discussed below in more detail.

The account coordinator can be located at the online casino server 100.Alternatively, the account coordinator can be located at the land basedcasino database 110. Alternatively, the account coordinator can belinked to the online casino server 100 and/or the land based casinodatabase 110 via a computer communications network (not necessarily thesame network as described previously). Further a plurality of accountcoordinators can be located at various locations which implement any ofoperations described below in more detail.

The account coordinator 108 can be used to implement any of a number ofoperations which may be needed to coordinate accounts. One suchoperation is that of identifying an identical player in the land basedcasino database 110 from the player's information in the online casinoserver 100 (or vice versa).

For example, a player registers at an online casino. An accountcoordinator (typically located at the online casino server 100, althoughit can be located anywhere) can query the land based casino database 110and transmit the players name and address. Transmitting the player'sname alone may not be adequate since many players in a database may havea same name. the land based casino database 110 can run a query to seeif this player exists in the land based casino database 110. If not,then the land based casino database 110 can respond to the accountcoordinator that no such player record is found. If such a record isfound, then the online casino database 110 can typically respond with anindication that such a record is found and can also include informationin that record. At this point, the online casino database 100 canassociate the player's account with the account found in the land basedcasino database 110. The association can be performed by any combinationof: identifying the player's land based casino database record in theplayer's online casino database record; identifying the player's onlinebased casino database record in the player's land based casino databaserecord; the online casino database record can use the same playeraccount number as the land based casino database record, thus virtuallymerging the player's online casino database account record and theplayer's land based casino account record. In this latter case, any playby the player in either the online casino or the land based casino isrecorded in the player's account (typically at the land based casinodatabase 110, although the data can also be transmitted to the onlinecasino database 100 as well, or both, or an additional database (notpictured)). The player may be prompted when a match is found to inquirewhether or not the player wishes to affiliate the two accounts. Moresimply, when a player signs up for an online account he may be given theoption to enter a player account number for his or her land based playeraccount.

The above process can work in reverse too, wherein if a player signs upfor a loyalty account at the land based casino, the online casinodatabase can be queried for a matching player record. If there is amatch, the accounts are associated as well.

In a further embodiment, a player may request manually that his or heraccounts from an online casino and a land based affiliate be merged orassociated. The player can input his account names or numbers into anapplication for this purpose, and the application can retrieve theappropriate records and associate (or merge) them.

It is noted that association generally means to point one account to theother or both to each other. An additional database can also store arecord of associated accounts which contains an index of each player'saffiliated accounts. Comp points can be transferred from one account tothe other (typically by request of the player, either electronically orverbally to a casino representative). Alternatively, associated accountscan also reflect the other's value and can result in the same value forcomp points earned.

A merger generally means that one account, not two is maintained. It maybe that two accounts are actually maintained in the implementation, butthis fact may be transparent to the player. For example, if a playeralready possesses a land based account, and the player plays online, theland based account can be used for the online account as well (using acomputer communication network) linked to the online casino database.However, in practice, an online casino account may still be needed tostore data particular for the online environment. The manner which anonline casino offers complimentaries for table games may be differentfrom the method used in land based casinos. Thus, an online casino maywish to separately track and administer comps for table game play butcombine points for slot play. When the player plays online or in theland based casino, and views his or her current comp points, with mergedaccounts they will typically be the same (if they have been recentlycoordinated).

Associated (or even merged accounts) can be updated periodically, forexample every midnight. This way, data from one account can betransferred to the other. When points are redeemed, the redemption canbe transmitted to the database of the other non-redeeming party, or acentral database which stores player information as well and linked toany or all other player databases.

The account coordinator 108 can also be used to point one account toanother. For example, a player may register at an online casino usingthe player's online casino account. The account coordinator 108 can usea look up (or search) and determine as associated account that can beaffected by the player's online play. The online casino server 100 canthen use this associated account (and/or the online casino account aswell) when updating comp points earned while (or after) the player isplaying (or has played).

In a further embodiment, complimentary points are not really transferredbetween an associated (or merged) online account and land based account,but nevertheless all of the data is accessible by a casino employee(from either the land based casino or the online casino or both). Thecasino employee (or an automated system) may use the total data indetermining whether to offer a promotion to a player.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating records for affiliated casinos,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

List A 200 is a portion of a database storage storing players for casinoA. Note that “Other data” denotes any additional data typically storedin such a record (such as playing history, comps received, etc). List B202 is a portion of a database storage storing players for casino B.

Note that there is a common player in both databases, “DebbieGoldstein,” and this player's record in each database contains areference to this player's record in the other casino.

In a further embodiment of the present system, a universal list 204 canbe maintained. This universal list 204 stores all players known to theaffiliated casinos and lists all of their associated accounts. Theuniversal list may be maintained by a universal database linked to otherplayer databases.

The universal list can be indexed by a universal account number, asillustrated in the universal list 204.

The universal list 204 can also optionally be indexed by account numbersfor the other casinos in a casino A indexed table 206. The casino Aindexed table 206 shows the universal account number for a given accountnumber for casino A. Alternatively, the record for each account incasino A indexed table 206 could also contain some or all of the playerinformation in the universal list. A casino B indexed table 208 showsthe universal account number for a given account number for casino G.Using these tables, a player with an account number for one casino canimmediately be identified in the universal list. Whenever a player usesa player's card (or online playing account), the universal server can bequeried with the player's account number for the instant casino. Theuniversal server (linked to the universal database) can then respondwith the player's up to date player information (such as comp points,etc.) from the player's record.

In this manner, a plurality of casinos (an unlimited number of casinoscan be affiliated using this method), can have affiliated playeraccounts. Note that the universal list stores data for “DebbieGoldstein” for both casino A and casino B. In this case, each of thesecasinos may maintain separate data and records on this player, and theuniversal record can store both. Alternatively, the universal record canstore just universal playing data which is updated by each casinowithout the need for separate data for each casinos. Thus, in thisembodiment, the comp points from each casino would be aggregated. In theformer embodiment, each casino can still maintain separate data (i.e.comp points, etc.), while in the latter embodiment, the player data foreach casino should be the same (because they all reference the universalrecord, although casinos can still maintain separate data if theychoose).

It is again noted the universal server and universal database (204 206,208) are optional, and instead of a universal server, individual casinodatabases can communicate records with each other as well.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementingthe present invention, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The method starts with operation 300, wherein a party registers anaccount with a first entity. The first entity can for example be a landbased casino (although it can also be an online casino).

The method continues to operation 302, wherein the party registers anaccount with a second entity. The second entity can for example be anonline casino (although it can also be a land based casino), and thisaccount information can be stored in the online casino database 101. Thesecond entity can be affiliated by the first entity, or these entitiescan be owned by the same party.

The method continues to operation 304, which associates the firstaccount with the second account. The association can be accomplished ina number of ways, as described herein. For example, when the partyregisters the second account he or she can manually indicate an accountnumber of the first account. For example, if the second account is at anonline based casino, the online casino server 100 can prompt the user(after registration in operation 302, or at a later time) for an accountnumber of the first account (which can exist in the land based casinodatabase 110). Some type of security check can optionally be performedto ensure that the person has authority to act on behalf of the firstaccount. For example, a security question, personal identificationnumber (PIN), or password, can be used. Further, if the user provideshis or her account number for the first account while registering for anonline casino, the system can query the database storing the firstaccount information to verify that the information (name and/oraddress/and or phone number, etc.) matches. If there is a match (subjectto any other security checks), the account number of the first accountcan be accepted as being associated with this second account.Alternatively, the first account itself can be used for online play (asdescribed herein).

Alternatively, the system can manually check the database used to storeaccounts by the first entity (such as the land based casino database110) to see if there is a match, and these accounts can be automaticallyassociated. Alternatively, the system can prompt the party if the partyhas another account, upon which the manual check can be performed. Theassociation can be performed immediately upon registration of the secondaccount, or can be performed at a later time, either by request of theparty or by a review of records by either of the entities.

From operation 304, the method proceeds to operation 306, which allowstransfer of points and/or information between the first account and thesecond account. For example, if a player earns points in the secondentity, some or all of the points can be transferred from the secondaccount to the first account. Alternatively, information from oneaccount can be transferred to the other account. For example, playerskill information stored in the first account can be transferred to thesecond account. The transfer can be performed for example online, usingan application allowing a player to transfer points between accounts.Alternatively, information such as points earned can be transferredautomatically and periodically between accounts, such as every 24 hours.When points are redeemed, both (or all) associated accounts can beadjusted to account for the redemption. For example, consider a playerearns 100 points playing on land and 50 points playing online, and thenthe player visit the land based casino to redeem the points. The playercan then be entitled to all 150 points. Upon redemption, all associatedaccounts can be adjust to reflect that these points have been redeemed,so all associated accounts can then reflect zero (or however many left)points.

Further, the second casino entity may view information from the firstaccount without actually transferring information. For example, thefirst entity may be an online casino while the second entity may be anaffiliated land based casino. The online casino can accumulate playerskill information for a player. The land based casino can view the skillinformation when deciding whether to offer the player complimentaries orthe like.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of using a same account for a land an onlinecasino, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The method starts with operation 400, which registers a first accountwith a land based casino. This can be done in a standard manner, and canbe stored in a standard database, such as land based casino database110.

The method then proceeds to operation 402, which identifies the playeror first account to an online casino. This operation occurs when theplayer initiates play at an online casino. The player can identifyhimself or herself to the online casino by identification informationsuch as name, address, phone number, or the account number of the firstaccount. This can be done at a personal computer 104 via the computercommunications network 102 to the online casino server 100.

The method then proceeds to operation 404, wherein the player playsonline accumulating points using the first account. The player can thususe his or her standard land based comp account while playing online.The online casino server 100 can transmit accumulated point data to theland based casino database 110 which can store the player's standardaccount information. The comp account number (or other identificationinformation) can be stored on the personal computer 104, oralternatively the comp account number (or other identificationinformation) can be stored on the online casino database 101 (or anyother database).

The method then proceeds to operation 406, wherein the player can redeemthe accumulated points at the first land based casino. Thus, when theplayer visits the land based casino, the player will have earned anypoints the player has previously earned at the land based casino plusany points the player earned online.

Thus, this embodiment uses one account for both land and online play.This is in contrast to a previous embodiment, which can use twoassociated accounts, one for online and one for land.

It is further noted that an association between land and an onlinecasino can be performed transparently by the operators and that theplayer may or may not know that his or her accounts are associated. Forexample, consider a player that plays at a land based casino and thenplays at an affiliated online based casino. The casinos canautomatically associate these accounts, although may choose not to allowsharing of complimentary points. However, player skill information canbe tabulated while the player plays online (or on land), which can beshared with the land based casino host. Thus, a player who plays online,but has a poor skill level, can be entitled to more complimentaries orincentives than the player would have been normally entitled. The skillinformation can be stored for example in the online casino database 101.

In yet a further embodiment, an association between a land account andan online account can be associated in the player's accounts (either orboth), but both account information may be kept entirely separate. Theassociation can be used to send promotions or for other marketingefforts. For example, if a player has both a land based account and anonline account, then either casino (or one if it is the same entity) maysend special offers for players that play both online and land.

It is also noted that the present invention is not limited to associateaccounts between an online casino and a land based casino, but canassociate accounts between two or more land based casinos, two or moreonline casinos, or in any combination.

It is noted that in an embodiment of the present invention,complimentary points can be earned remotely without the player having tophysically present his or her comp card. The comp card account numbercan be stored either locally (on the player's hard drive on the personalcomputer 104), or remotely (in a player record on a remote database suchas the online casino database 101). Thus, unlike the current art, theplayer does not always need a physical comp card to earn points forincentives. Table I below illustrates an example player record,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that somefields in table I are optional, and additional fields known in the artmay not be included. TABLE I Player ID: BigluckyJoe Address: 3 oakstreet Comp points:  1055.4 Associated comp account: 200443 Casino forabove account: Lady Luck Casino

Thus, according to Table I, a player record can be stored (either on theplayer's hard drive on the personal computer 104), or remotely (in aplayer record on a remote database such as the online casino database101). If the data is stored locally, then some fields like the comppoints should still be stored remotely because it may be subject toplayer modification. The player ID can be an assigned ID or an ID chosenby the player for easy recollection. Other information can be stored inthe record, such as the player's address, and any other informationknown in the art. The number of comp points can also be stored. Anassociated comp account number is designated, which is an account numberfor the player's comp account at another casino (such as a land casinoknown as “Lady Luck.”

This system can work as follows. A player can log into his or her onlinecasino account using their personal computer, using the player's ID(e.g. “BigluckyJoe”). The system can then retrieve the player'sassociated comp account number. This number can be stored in theplayer's database remote database record, or locally (e.g. on theplayer's hard drive). If this number is not stored locally then theplayer can have access to his or her associated account regardless ofthe remote computer the player is using.

In an embodiment, comp points may not be stored in the online playerrecord illustrated in Table I, but instead comp points already earned(from play at both the land and online casino) can be retrieved from theremote land based casino database 110. In this embodiment, there is noseparate tally of comp points for the online and land based casino. Comppoints earned from either are accumulated to the player's total. In afurther embodiment, a separate tally of comp points can be maintainedfor the online and land casino, and these can be transferred, merged, orsynchronized at a later time.

When the player plays online, comps points can be accumulated. Thesecomp points can be accumulated in the player's standard account, in theplayer's associated account, or both accounts. If the comp points arebeing accumulated in the player's associated account, then upon everycomp point earned (or after a predetermined number of comp points orafter a session), the comp points earned are transmitted to a remotedatabase (for example land based casino database 110) along with theassociated comp account. The player ID information can also betransmitted as well for security or other purposes. Thus, the player cannow earn comp points playing from a remote computer that are redeemableat a land based casino as if the player had earned these points at theland based casino itself.

It is further noted that it may be possible that a player may maintaintwo separate accounts, one for a land based casino and one for an onlinebased casino. At some point in time, the player may wish to merge theseaccounts. Comp points earned from either account can be combined andtransferred into one account. In the future, comp points earned by playeither at the online or land based casino can then be accumulated intoonly a single account. For example, if a player has an online accountand a land account, each with separately earned comp points. The comppoints from the online account can be transferred to the land account,and the player online record can now reflect an association with theland account in which future comp points earned online will bedistributed to the other land account.

In yet a further embodiment, two separate accounts may be maintained.However, at any point in time, a player may manually request a transferof points. For example, a player has earned 100 comp points at a landbased casino and 200 comp points at an affiliated online based casino.The player then wishes to visit the land based casino and wishes toredeem his points earned online for room, food, beverage, or any otherincentive, at the land based casino. The player can request a transferof comp points at the online based casino. The online server can thenprompt for (or may already have) the player's land based account number.The player can then transfer some or all of the points to that account.In this case, the player can transfer the 200 comp points he or she hasearned at the online casino to the land based account for a total of 300comp points, while the player will then have 0 points at the onlinecasino. The 300 points can them be used by the player to apply to a roomor other incentives, or can be used by the land casino host inevaluating the player's value to the casino.

Before effectuating such a transfer, the system may query the remoteland based casino database with the land based account number and playeridentification information, so that the land casino database can confirmor provide information to confirm that the player is the same playerthat owns the land based casino account. Transfers may be allowed eitherway or one way. For example, the system may be set up to allow transferonly from an online account to a land account, but not the other wayaround. Or transfers can be allowed in either direction. Note that atransfer of points is different than a merger of accounts. Two separateaccounts may still be active and used to accumulate points.

Further, there may be an exchange rate between different casinoaccounts. For example, a comp point earned at an online casino may nothave the same value as a comp point earned at an affiliated land basedcasino. Thus, when comp points are transferred, the number of comppoints can be multiplied by a conversion constant to reflect the valueof the points after the transfer.

Further, it is not necessary that the same player be associated withhimself at other casinos. A husband and wife can be associated with eachother and share player data and comp points. In this embodiment, aplayer record for a husband will designate an association with hiswife's account, and vice versa. When comp points are queried, redeemed,or reviewed by a casino personnel, the database may check for associatesand aggregate comp points between the associated husband and wife,depending on the configuration of the system. For example, the systemmay allow a husband and wife to maintain and view their comp pointsseparately, but can aggregate them upon redemption. Thus, all of themethods and apparatus described herein can also be used to affiliate twoaccounts owned by different people, such as a husband and wife. Theseaffiliated accounts can be used by a single entity (e.g. a land basedcasino) or across different entities.

A husband and wife can maintain two separate (but associated accounts)as described herein. A husband and wife can also maintain a singleaccount between both people.

Note that this differs from a system in which multiple casinos can usethe same player's card. In this case, the player's account number is oneand the same, and there is typically only one account and one database.

Alternatively, a husband and wife (or other related parties) can haveseparate but associated accounts. The associated accounts can bedesignated in the respective player records as described herein.Associated accounts can share and/or transfer account information and/orcomplimentary points. For example, points that a husband earns can beredeemed by the wife's account. The wife's account will designate anassociation with the husband's account, thus allowing points to betransferred.

Thus, an advantage of the present system is that multiple casinos(whether land based or online) can associate or share accounts,providing players a more simple system with more flexible capabilities.

Skill can be measured by recording a player's playing decisions (such ashit or stand, etc.) and comparing the actions with the optimal decisionthat would maximize the player's expected return.

All of the promotional methods described in the document entitled, “ACASHLESS SLOT MACHINE AND/OR AMUSEMENT DEVICE WITH SPECIAL FEATURES,”can be offered and targeted based on any data collected as described inthe current document. For example, a player can play at an onlinecasino. The casino can determine that the player's skill (or any othercharacteristic of the player's play, such as any characteristicdescribed herein or the prior document) is desirable to the casino, sothe affiliated land-based casino can offer the player a promotion, sucha special ticket for playing video poker (or any other type of specialticket as described therein).

The currently described system is especially attractive for attractinginternational players from a country where online gambling is legal toUS based land casinos which have a legal online casino affiliate. Thecurrently described system is also attractive for casinos in countrieswherein taking land and online bets are both legal.

It is also noted that any and/or all of the above embodiments,configurations, variations of the present invention described above canmixed and matched and used in any combination with one another. Anyclaim herein can be combined with any others (unless the results arenonsensical). Further, any mathematical formula given above alsoincludes its mathematical equivalents, and also variations thereof suchas multiplying any of the individual terms of a formula by a constant(s)or other variable.

Moreover, any description of a component or embodiment herein alsoincludes hardware, software, and configurations which already exist inthe prior art and may be necessary to the operation of such component(s)or embodiment(s).

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thedetailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claimsto cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation illustrated and described, and accordinglyall suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention.

1. A method, comprising: a player registering a first account with aland based casino; the player registering a second account with anonline based casino; and associating the first account and the secondaccount.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:transferring complimentary points earned from the second account to thefirst account.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:offering a player at the land based casino a promotion or incentivebased on complimentary points earned from the second account.
 4. Amethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising: storing player skillinformation reflecting the player's transactions at the online basedcasino in the second account; and sharing the player's skill informationwith the land based casino.
 5. A method as recited in claim 4, furthercomprising: deciding to a special promotion to the player for the landbased casino using the player's skill information.
 6. A method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising: allowing the player to redeemcomplimentary points earned from the online casino at an establishmentrelated to the land based casino.
 7. A method as recited in claim 6,wherein the establishment is a restaurant.
 8. A method as recited inclaim 6, wherein the establishment is a hotel.
 9. A method as recited inclaim 8, wherein the player can receive a free or discounted room at thehotel based on the complimentary points earned from the online casino.10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the associating prompts theplayer for a land based casino account number for the player.
 11. Amethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the associating automaticallysearches a database for the land based casino to find an account for theplayer at the land based casino.
 12. A method as recited in claim 1,further comprising reviewing information in the second account by anemployee of the land based casino in order to determine whether to offerthe player a promotion by the land based casino.
 13. A method,comprising: a player registering an account a land based casino; theplayer signing onto an online based casino; the player wagering at theonline based casino; and the player earning complimentary points for theaccount based on the wagering.
 14. A method as recited in claim 13,wherein there is only one account for the player for both the land basedcasino and the online based casino.
 15. A method as recited in claim 13,wherein there is one account for the land based casino and one accountfor the online based casino, and both accounts are associated with eachother.
 16. A method, comprising: registering a first account at a casinoby a first person; registering a second account at the casino by asecond person; and associating the first account and the second account.17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the first person is ahusband and the second person is the husband's wife.
 18. A method asrecited in claim 16, wherein complimentary points earned in the firstaccount can be transferred to the second account.
 19. A method asrecited in claim 16, wherein complimentary points earned in the firstaccount can be redeemed by the second person using a player's card ownedby the second person.
 20. A method as recited in claim 16, whereincomplimentary points earned in the first account can be redeemed by thesecond person based on the associating. 21 A method, comprising:registering a first account by a player at a land based casino;registering a second account by the player at an online based casinoaffiliated with the land based casino; allowing the player to play atthe online based casino; accumulating skill information regarding theplayer's play at the online based casino; and transmitting the skillinformation to the land based casino.
 22. A method as recited in claim21, further comprising associating the first account with the secondaccount.
 23. A method, comprising: registering a player account for aplayer for an online casino; allowing the player to play at the onlinecasino from a remote computer and to accumulate comp points; andoffering the player to visit a land based casino affiliated with theonline casino and to redeem accumulated comp points at the land basedcasino.
 24. A method, comprising: logging onto an online casino using aplayer's player identification; retrieving a player record of the playerin a remote database using the player identification; retrieving anassociated loyalty account number identifying an associated loyaltyaccount for an associated land based casino from the player record;allowing the player to play a wagering game; accumulating complimentarypoints based on the play of the wagering game in the associated loyaltyaccount using the associated loyalty account number; and allowing theplayer to redeem accumulated complimentary points in person at theassociated land based casino.
 25. A method, comprising: registering afirst loyalty account at a first casino; registering a second loyaltyaccount at a second casino; accumulating a first number of comp pointsin the first loyalty account; accumulating a second number of comppoints in the second loyalty account; and transferring the first numberof comp points in the first loyalty account to the second loyaltyaccount.
 26. A method as recited in claim 25, wherein the first casinois an online casino and the second casino is a land based casino.
 27. Amethod as recited in claim 26, wherein the first casino and the secondcasino are part of the same entity.
 28. A method as recited in claim 25,wherein the transferring comprises converting the first number of pointsto an adjusted number of comp points, adding the adjusted number of comppoints to the second loyalty account, and zeroing out the first numberof comp points in the first loyalty account.
 29. A computer readablestorage medium controlling a computer to perform a method comprising:registering a first account by a player at a land based casino;registering a second account by the player at an online based casinoaffiliated with the land based casino; allowing the player to play atthe online based casino; accumulating skill information regarding theplayer's play at the online based casino; and transmitting the skillinformation to the land based casino.
 30. An apparatus, comprising: afirst player database associated with a land based casino storing playerinformation for the land based casino; a communication unit connected toa second player database storing player information for an onlinecasino; a data integration unit receiving the player information for theonline casino and receiving the player information for the land basedcasino; and an output unit outputting player summary data incorporatingthe player information for the online casino and the player informationfor the land based casino.
 31. An apparatus as recited in claim 30,wherein the output unit is located in a land based casino.